Movie Reviews

Yuri Foreman V. Miguel Cotto: A Tale of Two Cities

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Written by Jonathan Jacobs

     Cotto entered the ring heavier than ever before, buffer than ever before, and finally thank goodness better trained than has ever been the case. Calling on the legendary master trainer Emmanuelle Steward has already paid dividends for Cotto and It will continue doing so as the former bullyish bruiser regains his championship form, his defense and his machismo. Miguel Cotto used to be a monster in the ring. He pounded opponents into submission. Then suddenly he ran into a brick wall…LITERALLY. I watched the Margarito-Cotto fight I believe in 2007. I was stunned when Cotto fell to one knee practically begging for mercy. He went from being Mike Tyson Jr. to being Hassim Rachman, ouch! It later turned out that Margarito fought him with concrete plaster in his gloves enabling his punches to decimate Cotto. In my opinion Miguel has never recovered and physically the bell may already have tolled. This is truly regrettable.

     Yuri Foreman came to the ring undefeated and with a wonderful hard knocks story. The only thing he lacked was boxing talent. He looked out of shape and like someone’s wannabe uncle who brags about the time he played high school football 20 years ago. From the very beginning Cotto knocked him around at will and landed punishing jabs to the reddening skin of Foreman. Yuri’s entire repertoire relies on footwork that keeps opponents at a safe distance to prevent being hit with any significant power shots. In the penultimate round Foreman slipped and his knee twisted twice in opposite directions. From that moment onward he was a sitting duck that refused to quack. As if HBO boxing announcers were not dumb enough and lacking in insight to a baffling degree, while showing a replay of Foreman’s horrible slip that aggravated his knee, auditioning color man Roy Jones, Jr. told us no slip occurred and asserted that Yuri’s knee had buckled. This is like the perfect game in baseball that was cruelly rescinded by one stupid umpire last week. The runner was clearly out and the umpire called him safe when everybody knew otherwise. We watch a slip and an announcer tells us no slip occurred. OK and Santa and the tooth fairy are real? Calling Dwayne Johnson! Please once again fire Roy Jones and ask him to learn how to speak a language, we recommend English.

     I am happy for Cotto as he desperately needed a major victory and he is now a four time title holder. He is a classy fighter who congratulates opponents in victory as well as in defeat. He is truly terrific. Foreman has no business being in a boxing ring ever again. His undefeated record was a façade at best.

     Final thought; in the second to last round someone threw an enormous white towel past both fighters all the way across the ring. The fight seemed to be stopped, the entourages flooded the ring and then the referee continued the fight. Allegedly Yuri’s corner did not throw in the towel, a random person near the corner did. Would you like to buy the Brooklyn Bridge? Regardless, the fight should have been stopped to avoid the punishment that would ensue. Boxing has become a joke in many regards. It needs its stars to fight one another. Paging Floyd McChicken Mayweather…

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